My doctor insists I have a yearly physical and this morning is the day.   Ugh and double ugh.  Gotta go get ready and head into town.  What fun!

Posted By kimrose on 10/31/2007 1:57 PM
well, at least the headaches aren't sinus ones That issue is over! But migranes are no fun... I get those a lot too. That's interesting about the sinus headaches being migranes though, I wonder if some of mine are... Because I'll take sinus meds and nothing helps. Hmmmm, interesting...

Now go eat some candy for halloween, you deserve a treat today

Kim, the doctor said unless you truly have a blockage in those upper sinus cavaties, that there really is not a "sinus" headache -- research is showing that the majority of sinus headaches are migraines.  I alway thought migraines made you go to bed sick (and I have had headaches that bad before), but he says the type I'm having can be migraine too.

Posted By Katie'sMom on 10/31/2007 2:11 PM

Posted By kimrose on 10/31/2007 1:57 PM
well, at least the headaches aren't sinus ones That issue is over! But migranes are no fun... I get those a lot too. That's interesting about the sinus headaches being migranes though, I wonder if some of mine are... Because I'll take sinus meds and nothing helps. Hmmmm, interesting...

Now go eat some candy for halloween, you deserve a treat today

Kim, the doctor said unless you truly have a blockage in those upper sinus cavaties, that there really is not a "sinus" headache -- research is showing that the majority of sinus headaches are migraines.  I alway thought migraines made you go to bed sick (and I have had headaches that bad before), but he says the type I'm having can be migraine too.

wow, I really am wondering now if mine really are sinus headaches!  I mean, I know some are because of the pressure, and I can't even swallow, and the ... well I won't be gross but I know...   But I feel like I have one at least once a week and I am always taking stupid sinus pills which oddly enough make me sleepy and dopey, and most of the time they do nothing for me!!

You just might be my hero today Jan!!  I'm going to try a migraine pill next time I "think" its a sinus and see if it works!!!   (I suffer with headaches a lot, and I am a baby with them, so not only I will thank you if this is what it is!!)

Hm, wonder if some of mine are migraines?  Except the antihistimine spray the ENT gave me almost always gets rid of them.  He did say my sinuses looked good but because of my deviated septum the swelling causes headache.

Chocolate causes migraines in some people - watch out with the Halloween candy!

Jan, I suffered with migraines (what are called Simple Migraines) for years, thinking they were sinus headaches.  I had the light sensitivity, some nausea, sound sensitivity.  My primary trigger is sunshine glare!  Imitrex was just coming out then and is used after you get the headaches.  My doctor sent me to neurology for Cat and MRI scans to rule out any other causes.  Because one can't avoid my trigger, she decided to go the "preventive" therapy route. There are a number of other meds available for a preventive approach.  The first one she tried on me was Nortriptyline (used to treat a very wide variety of problems) which impacts seratonin levels, now thought to be the direct cause of many migraines.  Got rid of mine completely!  Took the stuff for two years and then weaned myself off .  I have probably only had maybe one migraine a year ever since.

So if the Imitrex bothers you in any way (it zaps some people pretty bad, plus you have to have it on you all the time), there are preventive meds they can try instead of the after-the-fact Imitrex. 

Yes, my doctor discussed some of the preventative meds and talked at length about seratonin levels.  He is not ruling that out.  Wanted me to read some literature he gave me and see if I could determine the trigger -- food, etc.  Maybe keep a diary for a while with my headaches -- thing is, I have chronic mild, naggy headaches every few days.  Not enough to keep me from functioning, just there.  Sometimes they go into the "have to go to bed , cold rag, dark room, sick headaches -- that is when he said to use the Imitex and see how it worked for me.  Fortunately, I don't have the bad ones like that very often!  So, I know from the reading that caffeine can do it (I don't drink caffieine and have given up chocolate for the most part with my diet), but I also have read that aspartame (NutraSweet) can do it.  I drink a ton of caffeine free diet cokes, which have aspartame in them.   So, time to cut down on those and go to more water.  Gee, healthy eating -- yuck.!